Editor's note: The U-T San Diego Editorial Board has asked the four front-running candidates for mayor of San Diego to write a series of commentaries on the major issues facing the city and its voters. In this fourth installment of the series, the topic is how to fix city employee pensions.

In order to turn the page on the problems of the past and rebuild our city, we must reform our pension system. It is critical that we find savings that can be invested back into our neighborhoods. It is time we make reforms that will allow us to rebuild our city and invest in our parks, libraries, and ensure the public safety.

The Comprehensive Pension Reform initiative is the first step in achieving pension reform, and I support it. It will remove taxpayer risk for new workers’ pensions, end abusive pension spiking, reduce city costs for pension obligations, provide greater transparency and bring public employee retirement benefits more in line with the private sector.

What separates me from my opponents in this election is how I would implement this reform. The far right wants our pension problem to be a perpetual crisis and seeks to blame city workers for problems created by politicians. Carl DeMaio has staked the rationale of his candidacy on divisiveness and turning San Diego into the “Wisconsin of the West” – a place defined by partisan standoffs, dysfunction and chaos.

On the other side, Bob Filner has no plan other than to suggest the city borrow hundreds of millions of dollars in “casino” bonds. This would expose taxpayers to even more risk and leave it to future generations to confront the cost of pension liability.

Neither approach is acceptable. San Diegans deserve a rational approach that solves the problem and moves our city forward.

First and foremost, I will lead by example. In the Marine Corps, commanding officers set the culture for the entire organization. They lead by example, never asking of someone else something they are not willing to do themselves.

As mayor, I will bring that same type of leadership and accountability to City Hall. My plan will ensure city management is held to the same standard as everyone else. It’s among the management employees that most of the most extreme six-figure abuses of the pension system occurred, and I will ensure they do their part in fixing the problem.

Second, I believe it is possible to implement this measure in a way that is both fair to workers and protects taxpayers. CPR is written in a way to give the City Council and mayor flexibility to ensure newly hired workers are provided a stable and secure retirement. I will ensure all new workers will receive this stable and secure requirement, along with Social Security and death and disability benefits.

Bringing meaningful, cost-effective pension reform to San Diego will require us to learn from the most innovative and successful systems in the public and private sectors. Across America, public agencies are reassessing the way they deliver retirement benefits. There are examples like annuity plans commonly used in higher education that prove you can deliver secure retirement without saddling workers with undue risk or taxpayers with unsustainable costs.

To implement reform in a way that achieves the maximum savings, we’ll need a mayor who is committed to working with everyone on implementation – not one who’s out to settle old scores.

This is a time for San Diego to lead, not to get caught up in political gamesmanship. That approach won’t solve our problems.

My record shows I have the ability to work with all sides, to move beyond political posturing and actually get things done.

We can bring our retirement system into the 21st century.

Under my leadership, it will be done right – in a way that respects the dignity of city workers, realizes true savings potential for taxpayers, and lets our city put its resources where they belong – back into our neighborhoods! It’s time to get San Diego moving forward.